There’s no magic formula for getting a job in Australia, but you do need a strategy.

Getting a job in Australia is 90% about having a high-quality Resume, Cover Letter, and LinkedIn profile, along with strong interview skills. The other 10% is luck.

If you’ve just finished your degree or recently arrived in Australia on a permanent visa, you probably have a couple of questions racing through your mind:

  • How long will it take me to get a job in Australia?
  • Will it be hard to find employment?
  • Where do I start, Melbourne or Sydney?
  • Are my resume and cover letter attractive enough?

I’m going to tackle the first question because it’s one of the most common questions job seekers, especially from overseas, ask me.

The question is similar to “How long is a piece of string?”

I love this question! It means that there’s no definitive answer. A piece of string could be five centimetres or fifty metres!

The same applies to getting a job in Australia. It could take one week or it could take one year. But I’m going to provide you with a rough calculation on how long it usually takes when you apply for jobs online.

The Job Search Timeline:

1 January 2023 – You see a position advertised and you decide to apply.
14 January – You apply by the closing date (14 January). By this time, anywhere between 50 – 250 candidates may have submitted their resume and cover letter for the job (so you’re one out of a potential 250…it’s competitive!)
16 January  – The selection panel starts shortlisting to pick the top five to seven candidates.
18 January – The selection panel convenes to select the top candidates for interviews.
25  – 27 January – Interviews take place.
30 January – The interview panel chair contacts the preferred candidate and asks for their referee details.
3 February – Referee checks take place.
6 February – Referee checks conclude.
9 February – Successful candidate is contacted and the offer is made.
The above timeline is a very rough estimate of how long it takes to get a job. As you can see, it’s for approximately six weeks. However, it can be sooner or it can be later.

Here are three things to enhance your chances of getting a job in Australia:

1. Assess your Resume and Cover Letter

If you’ve applied for more than twenty-five jobs and you haven’t been called for an interview, then your Resume and Cover Letter may need work. What’s the point of continuing to send them out if you keep getting rejected?

Ask yourself: Have I got an eye-catching professional profile statement? Have I quantified my achievements? Is my Cover Letter selling my key strengths?

You can learn more about writing high-quality cover letters and resumes in the free careers course.

2. Network with Recruiters 

Once your Resume, Cover Letter and LinkedIn profile are in order, it’s time to start networking. Join relevant industry/professional groups on LinkedIn and develop a ‘target list’ of recruiters to connect with.

Follow them and see what sort of information they post. What types of jobs are they advertising? Avoid being like the other 200 job seekers who send pointless requests or ask general questions.

If they’re seeking a candidate with skills in A and B and you have experience in these areas, then here’s your chance to send them a request stating that you’re an expert in A and B with X number of years’ experience.

Make sure you provide your number and ask them to call you. In addition, find their email address and send them a short message with a copy of your Resume. You want them to notice you.

3. Customise your Resume and Cover Letter for every job

Every job is different and you must customise your Resume and Cover Letter for each job you apply for. The most effective way to do this is to study the job advertisement and position description and write a list of every requirement (technical and soft skills).

Your job is to come up with examples of how you meet each requirement either through previous experience or through your qualifications.

The job advertisement will usually say, ‘The successful candidate must have A, B, C, D & E.’  So, make sure you address each requirement in your Resume and Cover Letter.

Job Seeking Approaches

At Career Success Australia, we help job seekers generate job interviews and ultimately a job offer in Australia.

Based on our experience helping people get jobs, here are the 3 most effective ways to get a job in Australia:

  1. The Direct Way (Networking): targeting companies and hiring managers directly
  2. The Indirect Way: going through recruiters who find jobs for you
  3. The Job Site Way: using online job sites to target multiple jobs

However, before you can become successful at the end of any of these 3 routes, you will need to have a well-written Resume, Cover Letter, experience and the right attitude to back them up.

You can find more information on setting up your Resume here. Once you’re set on paper, you will be equipped for finding a job in Australia – but not ready!

So, let’s look at the pros and cons of each of the 3 ways to help you become ready too.

The Direct Way

Create a list of all the companies you would like to work for. Research the company and find out if they are doing work that matches your skills and experience. 

Next, find out who the senior manager is that may be looking to hire. You may want to try HR as well. However, if you target the key decision-maker directly (rather than HR) you will have more success.

If you were a Civil Engineer, you may want to find the ‘Senior Construction Project Manager’ or ‘Direct, Civil & Construction’.

Use LinkedIn to discover hundreds of hiring managers that you can approach. You need to connect with them on LinkedIn (so make sure your LinkedIn profile is perfect). Then find their email and phone number. Then contact them either by phone or email. 

Don’t just ask if they have a job for you. You need to start slowly by learning about what they do and then softly talk about your skills and experiences that can solve their problems. 

PROs

  • Targeting companies you would like to work for can be a show of your commitment and desire for a role.
  • Hiring managers will appreciate this and it will help bring you to their attention.
  • It will cut out the competition.
  • You will show that you’re proactive and hungry for the role.

CONs

  • Companies may not be hiring at this moment in time.
  • You may approach them in the wrong way, which could annoy them.

The Indirect Way 

Search online for recruiting companies that work within your desired sector of work. Then, upload your Resume to their website. Try and get in touch with 1-2 consultants that recruit candidates for roles in your field i.e. Business Analyst, Financial Accountant or Mechanical Engineer, and reach out to them via email and phone. 

PROs

  • If you can market yourself well, i.e. as a high-value candidate worth selling to their clients, recruiters will try their best to find work for you.
  • The recruiters will become part of your job network and you will become part of their job network – increasing your chances to find work.
  • This will make your contacts for any future work too.

CONs

  • Certain recruiters work for the client only, which means they do not care about helping you find a job in Australia.
  • If you have a poor resume or LinkedIn profile, which does not show the best of who you are, recruiters will rule you out.

The Job Site Way

Sign up to one of the following job sites to search for jobs in your desired field of work. 

  1. SEEK
  2. Adzuna 
  3. Indeed 
  4. Rulla.

PROs

  • You can discover the companies and recruiters, who are hiring, then switch to the direct way.
  • These sites give you the opportunity to present a high quality targeted resume and cover letter to get shortlisted for interviews.
  • You can apply to a high number of quality jobs per week, which will increase your chances of securing an interview.
  • You can use the job alert function on each site to be alerted to any new jobs posted.

CONs

  • As this is a preferred method of many job seekers, competition can be high.
  • Some jobs are not real or have been discarded by the company, but are still showing as active on the job site.
  • The recruitment process through this way can be long, which, at times, can take months.

How can you be successful in getting a job in Australia?

It’s difficult to say which way is most successful or if one way is better than the others. 

Getting a job in Australia is particularly hard, even for Australian citizens. Moreover, it’s noticeably harder for workers arriving from abroad and international graduates.

If you’re from overseas then it can be hard to get a job in Australia because you’re competing against local candidates. Some hiring managers and recruiters will assume local candidates are a better ‘fit’ for the role than you are as they .

They assume local candidates possess a better understanding of Australian workplace culture, have better communication skills and are more familiar with how things are ‘done’ in an Australian work environment.

When I was recruiting I’d reject applicants from overseas if they:

  1. Didn’t have a permanent visa.
  2. Didn’t have relevant Australian experience.
  3. Had a poorly written Resume and Cover Letter.
  4. Had a Resume longer than three pages or a Cover Letter longer than one page.
  5. Submitted a generic Resume and Cover Letter with lines like “Responsibilities: Providing administration support to the sales team.”

But don’t give up!

I know recruiters and hiring managers who prefer candidates with overseas experience because they bring cultural diversity, global experiences and bilingual abilities. I’ve seen the most unemployable skilled migrants make significant improvements to their Resume, Cover Letter and LinkedIn profile and do well at interviews. It took time but they got there.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s hard. It’s competitive. However, if you arm yourself with a high-powered Resume, Cover Letter, LinkedIn profile and a database full of target managers in companies in your industry, you will be able to generate job interviews in Australia.

My Experience:

It took me nearly twelve weeks to be made the offer for my last position as Associate Director, Marketing at Melbourne University’s Business School.

After I lodged my resume, cover letter and key selection criteria, I was called for the first interview, which was with the General Manager, Human Resources and the Marketing Director. I was successful and called for a second-round interview with the Dean, Melbourne Business School – Executive Education and the Associate Dean, External Relations.

I was then shortlisted into the final two candidates and asked to present to their senior management team. It was a long process! I’m happy to say I was offered the job!

This was a particularly long process because it was for a senior position at a top business school. The process to get my job as a Marketing and Communications Manager at Monash University was much quicker.

Final Thoughts

On average though, it will take you about 6 – 8 weeks to get a job in Australia if everything is on schedule.

I know job seekers who have been looking for over six months to get a job. On the other hand, I know someone who had a contact at an Accounting firm and it took them just three weeks.

At Career Success Australia, we offer a range of options to help you secure employment. Whether it’s through our Career Coaching Program or our Premium Internship Program, our assistance above all will help you get a job in Australia. 

If you’d like our help, please complete a short Careers Assessment to start the process of getting a job in Australia.

We wish you all the best in your job search!

Careers Team, Career Success Australia